Comparative study of two techniques for assessing fat intake in a Mediterranean diet. The influence of culinary oils changes.

The diet usually consumed by a community of 18 normolipemic monks was studied. It included olive oil as cooking fat (basal period BP). This diet was modified by substituting olive oil for sunflower oil during a 21-day period (experimental period EP). The precise individual weighing technique was utilised for the determination of intake, and by means of the food composition tables (FCTs) the energy and nutrient of the diet were calculated. By chemical analysis of the duplicate sample (CA) of the cooked dishes the lipid intake was also determined. Total serum cholesterol HDL and LDL cholesterol, serum triglycerides, AI and B-100 apolipoproteins and Lp(a) were also analysed. Similarly the absolute and relative values for SFA, MUFA and PUFA obtained by both techniques were also different and these were maintained when the (PUFA + MUFA)/SFA ratio was calculated by both techniques and in the two periods. The correction of the lipid intake by means of the CA technique did not improve either the correlation between the intake or the plasma lipid concentration or the cholesterolemia prediction (r = 0.83 for FCT and CA).

[Effect of dietary fiber on the nutritional utilization of proteins and minerals]. / Influencia del consumo de fibra dietética sobre la utilización nutritiva de proteína y minerales.

In the last years, many experimental studies performed in humans and in animals show the relationship between dietary fibre (DF) and lipemia. All agree that fibre supplements are recommendable as a complement during treatments with hypocholesterolemic drug. Nevertheless dietary fibre interacts with the absorption of some nutrients in the diet, and thus on one hand the consumption in adequate amounts may induce the desired effect of lipemia but on the other it may not be advisable from other viewpoints.

[Spanish contribution to the creation of a European analytical database of trans-fatty acids]. / Contribución española a la creación de una base de datos analítica europea de ácidos grasos trans.

Within the AAIR Program of the EU titled Evaluation of the Ingestion of Trans Fatty Acids (FA) and its association with cardiovascular risk factors in European countries (TRANSFAIR), which is being carried out in 16 countries with different alimentary habits, among which is our country, we have developed the following study. Based on the information derived from the last National Nutrition and Feeding Study (ENNA-3), we have made up a list of foods which make up 95% of the total ingestion of lipids, and it also includes those which although they are not included within this percentage, may have an especially high trans isomer content as a result of their processing. The foods selected for the analysis belong to different food groups: cereals, milk products, oils and fats, meats, various, and pre-cooked foods, until making up a total of 100 foods for each country. The central analysis laboratory is that of the Department of Human Nutrition, TNO Nutrition and Food Research, Zeist (The Netherlands). In each sample, in addition to the total lipids, one determines the saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, including the cis and trans isomers. The trans FA's measured were: C14:1 T9, C16:1 T9, C18:1 T, C18:2 T, C18:3 T + C20:1 T, C20:2 T11,14, and C22:1 T13. Of the samples analyzed, the highest percentages of trans FA with respect to the total FA corresponded to the following foods: French fries, pre-cooked and frozen croquettes sliced bread, margarine, cakes, and frozen mille feuilles dough of different industrial brands. The lowest percentages of trans FA's were found in refined vegetable oils (sunflower and olive), those used for deep frying, and those discarded in catering, as well as in some commercial brands of cookies and ice creams. Pure chocolate, different brands of sweetened powdered cocoa, and ready to make chocolate, did not contain and trans FA.